The Beginning of the Van Buren
I was lucky enough a couple of years ago to purchase a Van Buren kit. Even more lucky that the kit was unopened and apparently had been stored real well. Everything is there, the instructions, the schematics and all the pieces. The wood is in great shape. My oldest Granddaughter, Lindsey, picked this house to be hers. Her original idea was to have a Taikwondo studio on the bottom level and living quarters in the 2nd and 3rd floors. Being a good grandmother, I said sure, it is doable.
A little while back, someone posted on the ebay eye candy forum line a picture of a beautiful Van Buren that they had built and had used block siding on, extended the balcony porch and added columns to the front. Wanting to make this special for DGD, I showed her the picture and she wants that house. (Now, I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew, I mean this house is beautiful and fancy)
So in preparation to try and make DGD happy and to do a good job, I ordered the plastic stencils to make block and bricks and also the stencil to make quoins. Also ordered upgrades for the front and french doors.
This weekend we broke out the kit, and DGD was asked again, if she still wanted a studio--no, no, she says, I want a old fashion candy shop and I want it to be blue--that is my favorite color she says. This child is almost 13, so as I see my grand plans go down the drain, her dear Mother steps up and says you want a fancy shop--let Nana brick it. Well, after looking at the brick and the block stencils, she has decided that her shop/home wants to be red brick--not fire engine red but a darker red with hints of black in it (hard to explain, but our rl fireplace is her model I believe).
We didn't make a lot of progress, but part of the shell is glued together, the door openings have been widen and experiment in brick material have begun.
The doors are not glued in, just placed to give you an idea of what it will look like. She wants this house electrified, so I'm thinking my next step is to install the interior doors (thinking cloth hinge) because the access to these will be hard after the side walls go up.
The rooms are large and the finished house should be 30 x14 x 30. A big house and roomy.
Please feel free to follow along on my (our?) journey of building this beautiful kit.
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